If your saddle slides to the side, what are you telling your horse through your aids? According to British researchers, a saddle that slips to the side can put riders in a poor position for communicating with subtle aids. And that, they say, can lead to poor equine welfare.

“The influence of saddle position must be considered in order to improve rider balance and performance and optimize horse welfare,” said Lorna Cameron, PhD, of Sparsholt College in the UK. Cameron presented the recent research on behalf of lead researcher Russell Guire, a PhD candidate at the Royal Veterinary College and a researcher at Centaur Biomechanics in Warwickshire, both in the United Kingdom, at the 2016 International Society for Equitation Science conference, held June 23-26 in Saumur, France.

In their study, Guire, Cameron, and colleagues investigated saddle fit’s effects on seven sound horses ridden by their regular riders. Scientists had already determined that these horses’ saddles rolled to the right or left, Cameron said. They first looked at rider hip angles and leg position (how low one foot was in relation to the other) during a straight-line canter using high-tech sensor equipment and videos.

Then they had a Society of Master Saddlers saddle fitter adjust the saddles using shims to fit the horses correctly. The scientists repeated the same measurements using the same state-of-the-art equipment, this time with straight saddles